Browsing: Facebook

The Navy’s operational security program is making a big push for sailors and and their families to lock down their social media presence lately, in the wake of a list of service members posted to an Islamic State group supporter’s website last month. Though no imminent threats have been made against sailors, officials urged personnel to tighten the privacy settings on their social media accounts by making them private or unsearchable, and removing any military affiliation from their accounts. But the internet is a labyrinth of accessible personal information and confusing privacy settings, so the experts at Navy Information Operations…

The Naval Academy has another viral internet hit, but it’s a little more solemn than the “Gangnam Style” spirit spot a few weeks ago. The Navy Athletics Facebook page posted the below photo on Sunday. As of Wednesday afternoon, the photo has over 22,000 likes and has been shared over 5,000 times. The photo shows Naval Academy midshipmen saluting a bus of World War II veterans, according to the Facebook post. The Navy men’s lacrosse team met the group of 67 vets at Baltimore-Washington International airport while returning home from playing Notre Dame over the weekend. The team had the…

The Navy is switching to a re-vamped Facebook format that shows everything important that has ever happened in the service’s history. Gone will be the standard page. Instead, information will be in the “Timeline” format, which allows visitors to see every photo, comment and ‘like’ ever posted on the Navy’s page. It also allows the Navy to put in old photos and important events, including its “birth.” Typically, people put in cutesy pictures of themselves as a newborn, but here, clearly, should be a shot of John Paul Jones.

The Navy has developed one of the most realistic prosthetic limbs ever. Creepily realistic. The picture appeared on the Navy’s Facebook page but it didn’t include many details. What is clear is that it’s part of the Navy’s ongoing work to make wounded service members as whole as possible. Needless to say, this is an amazing piece of equipment that will hopefully improve somebody’s life in immeasurable ways. But until then, it seems unnaturally lifelike and kind of reminds the Scoop Deck of this:

Despite trash-talk from Iran, the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is keeping its cool. After practicing blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a highway for about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, Iranian Army chief Ataollah Salehi pledged consequences if a U.S. aircraft carrier entered the Persian Golf. “I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once,” Salehi said. Days earlier, one of his country’s aircraft captured footage of the Stennis as it operated in the Gulf. Iranian officials claimed…

The fight is between blogger and Navy Mom Mary Brotherton and Capt. Brian “Lex” Luther, commanding officer of the carrier George H.W. Bush, a ship with ongoing commode problems. Brotherton has a blow-by-blow account of the head troubles on the carrier, complete with accounts from her son, a sailor onboard. It’s pretty thorough and includes details on how sailors handle widespread toilet outages, the clogs that cripple the toilet system and efforts to fix breakdowns. It was her work that tipped off a bunch of reporters on what’s happening on the ship. Not to be outdone, Capt. Luther has spoken up…

The law banning gays from serving openly ended Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. Now that it’s history, gay sailors are coming forward in ways ranging from showy to subtle. Others are simply blunt. One of them is Master-at-Arms Seaman Casie Jude, who’s posted in Italy. In a Facebook update on Tuesday she wrote, “Dear Navy: I’m gay. Duh.” One of her commenters replied, “I knew it!!!” Another sailor coming forward is Lt. Gary Ross. The 33-year-old surface warfare officer was married very early this morning at a small ceremony in Duxbury, Vt. to his partner of 11 years, Dan Swezy. It…

The officer fired Aug. 5 as commander of Beachmaster Unit 2 posted an oblique defense Sunday in the Facebook comments section following the story about his relief posted on navytimes.com. Oblique, because Cmdr. Robert M. Brown said not a word about being fired or the circumstances under which he was fired, instead posting the famous “man in the arena” quote from President Theodore Roosevelt. Brown’s post had attracted a couple dozen comments, most of them expressing support of Brown, and 25 “likes” as of Tuesday afternoon. He had earlier declined to comment until the investigation is complete. Naval Surface Force…

Put the sextant down and grab your mouse — a Navy scavenger hunt begins Wednesday. This doesn’t require scuttling around, but rather clicking. The entire contest, which begins May 18, takes place on Facebook. It’s part of an effort to promote maritime strategy while highlighting different Navy Facebook pages. To find the first clue, go to Big Navy’s Facebook page where you should find a hint about a command where you can find the second clue. Leave a comment there to prove you clicked through. Go to that command’s Facebook page on day two for the second clue; again, leave…

Nearly 28 years ago to the day, the carrier Carl Vinson had a visitor whose death is one of the biggest news stories of the week. Elizabeth Taylor, who died Wednesday, attended the ship’s christening (or maybe commissioning) with her husband, former Navy Secretary and then Virginia Sen. John Warner. The two are shown together in a photo posted on the carrier’s Facebook page, which described her as a “friend” of the ship. The photo’s origins are unclear. The caption says it’s from the christening March 13, 1982. The ship, however, was christened March 15, 1980. The picture is probably…